A couple of days after Christmas, we packed our bags and headed to the mountains. I am so thankful for the fact that my husband can work from wherever we choose to be, and now that our nest is empty, we choose to spend most of our winter in the Aspen/Snowmass community. We live on the Snowmass ski mountain, which is like a dream. Sometimes I go to sleep with the snowcats grooming the ski run that passes our backyard. If it snows overnight, I wake up to the snow-covered branches of a winter wonderland. This morning the sun is brilliant, the sky is blue, and it is hard to stay inside.

When we flew in this week, the sky was clear and the snow-covered mountains were glorious. It is strange for this Tennessee girl to live in an area with snow on the ground for months at a time. I feel like it’s Christmas every day! (Although I can only remember twice in my lifetime that we actually had any snow on the ground on Christmas day). But there is just something about being here. Sure, I miss my friends and family (who we would be thrilled to have visit us, hint hint), but we are gradually making new friends here. There are folks who live in Denver who visit on weekends, and we are finally starting to meet some great people who live here year round. People who live here are generally happy…ALL THE TIME! I don’t know if it’s because EVERYONE is active, so there are endorphins galore, or that they are just happy to be here, but I don’t often find people who live in the Roaring Fork Valley to be grumpy. The cool thing is that meeting and talking to an 80 year old man in the line at the grocery store who does 100 mile bike rides weekly is not a rare thing! I thought I was active and fit until I met some of my new friends here. I love the whole vibe.

Our plans are to be here through the ski season, which lasts until mid-April. Last year J blew out his ACL, so his ski season was cut short. Keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll stay healthy this year. I want to document our life here…what it’s like to live in a mountain resort town, doing the things we love. It’s nice to be able to pick and choose the days we want to ski, since we’re here more than a week. It’s also fun to find new things to do outside in the snow! Last night I picked up my new skis that I had set up for skinning. (Alpine trekking or uphill…the most awesome workout ever! More on that later)

Skinning…skiing uphill!

We’ve been here four days and I have skied three. It’s supposed to snow tonight, so I’m taking today off to do some errands. Things aren’t as convenient here as they are in Nashville. City Market (our equivalent to Kroger) and Whole Foods are in Basalt, about 30 minutes away, so I’m making the trip to stock up on groceries and run a few errands. But the drive is beautiful, I have satellite radio, so all is good!

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About Elisha

After our only child left for college, my husband and I decided to pack up and head for the mountains! We split our time between Colorado and North Carolina and love everything about the mountain lifestyle. I write about the empty nest experience, and our adventures living, playing and working. Taking a couple years off from writing while I get my master's degree in Nutrition.